The ‘Forest of the Damned’
by Snow White'84
Summary: COMPLETE: The young ones met with DM. He talked about a portal home; only problem: it’s in the mythical ‘Forest of the Damned’ with its bad beasts which would be after one’s life. They risked the way through it; a step with unforeseen consequences...
1. A quite normal day

**The 'Forest of the Damned'**

_Summary: The Young Ones met with Dungeon Master, who told them about a new way to a portal. But the only problem with it seemed that it was about a portal in the __steeped __in __legend__ 'Forest of the Damned', where it was teeming with soulless monsters, ghosts and other creatures.  
And if you weren't careful, these creatures would be after your life.  
You would be lost forever!  
Frightened by no means about these myths, the Young Ones risked the way through this forest; a step that would bring unforeseen consequences..._

* * *

I don't own the characters of D&D

_I'm not sure if the comma use is always right. I've got quite a few problems with it... And I guess with the grammar, as well. Let alone the language itself since it's not my mother tongue.  
So, if you find any mistakes, please let me know :)_

* * *

1. A quite normal day

The Young Ones already wandered through the land for a long time now.

Hank led the group. Sheila was with him. After that Diana and Presto followed, talking to each other. Bobby and Uni walked behind them. And Eric brought up the rear.

"Could you perhaps stop that? It makes me nervous!" Eric complained to Bobby, who whirled his Club around in the air as if it would be a baton.

Bobby stopped and turned around. "I don't know, what you mean!" he returned.

He already could think for sure, what Eric meant but it simply was so much fun for him to annoy the Cavalier.

"Come on, squirt, you know exactly, what I meant! So, don't pretend innocent like that!" Eric replied already a bit angry and pointed at the Club.

Bobby looked at it acting surprised and answered, "Uh, that...  
Why should I stop it? If it bothers you, then go away!"

"You would enjoy that, huh? Listen, stop it or I'm gonna take it away from you! That gets on my nerves enormously!"

"Aw, you even would carry it for me? How kind of you, Eric. I didn't know at all that you can be _that_ kind!" Bobby snickered.

In the meantime the others noticed that Bobby and Eric stopped. That's why they stopped as well.

"Eric! Bobby! Are you coming?" Hank shouted to them.

"I'm on my way, Hank. I've just got to do something here!" Eric replied and wanted to grasp the Club.

"Hey!" Bobby complained and yielded back.  
"If you wanna have my Club, then you gotta get it at first." Bobby said and swung his Club into the air.

"You probably think you're very strong with such a silly Club, huh?"

"I'm not only _thinking _I'm strong, I really _am_.  
Anyway, my Club's better than your funny Shield. But this really fits you. There you always can hide yourself very well, when we fight.  
And that's supposed to be a Cavalier?" Bobby snorted contemptuously.

"Well, just wait, you wimp! I'm gonna show you!  
However, you complain to the wrong address.  
Finally, it's not my fault that I received this Shield. There you have to go to..." Eric didn't come any further.

"Greetings, my pupils!"

Eric winced.

"Dungeon Master?" Bobby shouted excitedly and looked past Eric.

A small man in a red robe stepped out from behind Eric.

Eric turned around and snorted, "Aw, his shortness is right on cue! But would you mind not to sneak up to me from behind that way the next time?"

"I will remember it next time, Cavalier." Dungeon Master promised with a smile.

Bobby chuckled. Eric threw a mad glance at him. Meanwhile the others also came to them.

"Dungeon Master!" Diana greeted him.

"I've got news for you..."

"Yeah, of course. Otherwise you would have frightened me for nothing! I just wanna hope that it was worth to be frightened." Eric said, crossing his arms.

"Certainly, Cavalier, certainly. There's a way..."

"Don't tell us now something like _'that leads you home'_! I can't hear that any more! How many times have you already promised this to us and what did it always turn out to be?"

"Eric!" Diana said sharply and glanced at him warningly.

Eric only shrugged and murmured, "But it's true!"

"Aw and what was 'bout one time, when we could have gone home and a certain _Cavalier _did chicken out of it, 'cause he was turned into a Bogbeast by his own fault and didn't dare to show up like that and we others had to come back again over here only for his sake and..."

"Oh, shut your trap, short-stuff!" Eric snarled at Bobby.

"What did you say? You..."

"Stop it finally, both of you!" Hank stepped in.

He slowly was fed up with the permanent arguments between Bobby and Eric.

"But..." Eric started.

"It's enough, Eric!" Hank meant.

Bobby sneered at Eric. Eric frowned and glared at Bobby, but didn't reply anything more.

"Well, you should rather keep your strength for later times..." Dungeon Master said, who watched the whole scene silently and thoughtfully.

Hank turned to him and asked, "You wanted to tell us 'bout a way, Dungeon Master?"

"Yes, that's right." the man continued and patted Uni, who came to him.

The Young Ones looked at him expectingly.

"Well, there's a way... but this one leads through the_ 'Forest of the Damned'_.  
There are a lot of myths about this forest.  
Some say that the one, who goes in there and doesn't stay on the paths, will be lost for ever. You would helplessly fall victim to the countless monsters, ghosts and dark shapes; you would be killed by them or even become such a creature yourself."

"Well, doesn't this sound quite familiar to us?" Presto asked.

"Yeah of course, we just have to walk through a forest, protect ourselves from bad ghosts and whatever and we're already at home? Really that easy?" Eric piped up again. "Guys, you don't believe that, do you? I mean, this can't be that easy..."

"Who said here something 'bout _'easy'_?" Diana said. "Didn't you listen? This forest is called like that for a reason."

Eric turned around to Diana and meant, "Oh come on, who guarantees us that we're really gonna find there what we are searching for? Certainly not this... this..."  
Eric hesitated and pointed at the spot where the Dungeon Master stood a little while ago.

"He's gone." Sheila stated sadly.

"Yeah, as always!" Eric grumbled. "Just then when I mentioned him."

"Maybe he made off again just 'cause of _you_." Bobby considered.

"I'd like to see the day, where you two don't argue." Diana groaned and rolled her eyes.

"He's started!" Eric and Bobby said at the same time and pointed at each other.

"Great. That's what I meant." With these words Diana looked to Sheila sympathetically.

Sheila only sighed and shrugged.

"Well, anyway, Dungeon Master's gone and we don't know where to find this forest." Hank said discontented.

"Um, guys..." Presto attracted their attention.

They all turned around to him immediately; in expectation of new trouble, because most of the time such things followed after it.


	2. New trouble?

2. New trouble?

But Presto only pointed at a sign, where they could read 'Forest of the Damned'.

"Uh, there you are! That's what I call _'easy'_!" Diana turned grinning to Eric.

"Yeah, yeah, never mind!" he returned.

"Well, then let's go into our next adventure." Hank said and walked past the sign.

The others followed him.  
Eric gave a sigh and followed the others as well, again as the last one.

They walked some time until they arrived in front of a forest.

"So, that actually has to be this forest, right?" Sheila asked and glanced at first into the forest they were standing in front of and then she looked at her friends sceptically.

"Well, let's find this out." Hank meant shrugging and walked along the path, which led in the middle of the forest.  
"And stay on the paths! You know, what Dungeon Master said 'bout this forest..." he warned his friends.

"I just hope our weapons work here, if we should meet here something..." Presto murmured and looked around, while they walked deeper and deeper into the forest.

"There you ain't the only one, who hopes that, Presto." Eric agreed to him.

Presto turned around to him and cast a weak smile to him.

"Aw! If here really should be something or someone, then the one's gonna get to feel my Club! However, I don't think that here's something." Bobby replied and hit his Club into the air.

"Listen everybody, our fearless Barbarian let out such pretentious words." Eric scoffed. "You often get us only into bigger trouble with your hasty actions. If you're gonna listen to us once and just don't beat everything and everybody with this stupid thing there... it really would spare us bigger trouble sometimes.  
But no, Mr Barbarian simply doesn't listen and does pigheaded what he wants, as a sulky little kid he actually still is."

"Er-ic!" the voice of the young Barbarian trembled with anger.

"What, small Barbarian? Did I perhaps get there a sore point of you?" Eric asked sharply, stopped and looked at Bobby, who glared at him with narrowed eyes.

"You're gonna regret calling me a _little kid_." Bobby said furiously and hit his Club several times threatening into his hand.

"Uh, are you perhaps threatening me with that? I..."

"Eric, it's enough! Leave him alone!" Sheila stepped in; worried that her little brother could do something very stupid.

"Why do all of you always come to his defence?  
He just can't walk around here and bash everything with his Club as he likes!  
You have to admit that he simply doesn't listen to us.  
How often did we warn him of it? And he ignored it and did it anyway.  
And for this reason we really get always into bigger trouble than we already were anyway.  
He causes us trouble with his actions.  
He's a burden for us, for all of us.  
Admit it!"

"Damn it, Eric. Shut your trap right now or I'll take care of it myself." Hank said mad.

That was just too much for him to ignore any longer.  
Eric simply didn't have the right to attack one member of the group like that.

"A _burden_?" Bobby nearly squeaked and looked at his friends.  
"Do you really see me as that?" he asked unbelieving and his eyes already filled with tears.

"Bobby, no, of course not..."

"And why did Eric claim it then that _you all_ think this 'bout me?" Bobby kept on asking and the first tears ran over his cheeks.

"Oh Bobby, you know Eric." Sheila tried to calm her brother down.

"Hey, now I'm to blame as well, huh?  
Don't pretend now as if you've never even just thought 'bout it!" Eric defended himself.

Bobby's eyes got wide and he asked stunned, "Hank?"

Hank closed his eyes and looked to the ground.  
He couldn't admit that Eric's right on the one hand.  
He really has thought that some trouble would have spared them in some situations, if Bobby hadn't acted too hasty and a bit too temperamental.  
But on the other hand this quality just helped them also out of some situations...  
But he couldn't tell this to the boy. This would hurt him and because he was Sheila's brother, it also would hurt Sheila and he didn't want that in any case.  
That's why he was silent when Bobby looked at him begging.

Disappointed by the reaction of Hank, Bobby's always looking up at, he turned around to his sister, "Sis?"

But she just was so surprised about everything, that she also didn't say anything about it.

"Well, then it's true after all, huh? I'm a burden for you!  
I never would have expected that..." With the last words he turned to Hank and Sheila.

Then Bobby turned around again and ran into the deep forest.

"Bobby, wait! You got that wrong! Stay here!" Sheila shouted after him, but Bobby didn't want to hear her any longer.

He kept on running crying. He didn't care where he ran to when his friends and his own sister regarded him as a burden.

"Damn it!" Hank swore. "Great, Eric! Are you now contented?" Hank turned angry at him.

"_Bobby!!_" Sheila yelled into the forest. "We have to go behind him. You know, what happens, when leaving the path..." she said full of panic.

"Don't worry, Sheila, we're gonna find him!" Diana said reassuring and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I hope so. I never ever could forgive me, if something's going to happen to him!" she sobbed.

"There you can see it again.  
He knew quite exactly that he should stay on the paths and what did he do?  
He runs in the middle of the pitch dark forest!" Eric nagged.

"Damn it, Eric, just keep your trap shut now. He only ran away 'cause of you. If you hadn't provoked him that way, we wouldn't have to worry 'bout him now." Hank scolded.  
Then he turned to the edge of the path and shouted into the forest, "Bobby! Where are you? _Come back!_"

The forest seemed to swallow up his words.  
Hank tried hard to listen.  
But he sighed when they heard no answer and then he entered the forest.

"Um, Hank, we probably don't wanna also branch off the path now, do we?" Eric asked hesitating.

"Guess what! Do you really think, we're simply gonna leave Bobby here behind?" Diana replied and followed Hank and Sheila into the forest without getting an answer from Eric.

"Of course not, how could I ever think such a thing?" Eric grumbled sarcastically.

Presto only looked at him and followed Diana.

"What?" Eric asked.

Uni, who hardly has drawn attention to herself till then, snorted at Eric and galloped behind the others.  
Eric groaned, threw his hands into the air and followed the others as well.

"Dungeon Master could have left us a map at least..." Eric complained, while he looked around uncomfortable.

The others called for Bobby, but they didn't receive any answer.

"_Bobby!!_ Bobby, where are you? Come back again! _Please..._" Sheila shouted into the forest.

"Whoa, guys, have I ever told you that I hate forests?" Eric asked quite fearful.

"Uh-huh..." was Presto's short answer.

Suddenly they heard a pierced scream.

The friends looked at each other and Sheila yelled, "Bobby? Bobby, where are you?"

And without waiting for an answer she ran into the direction, where the scream came from.


	3. Myths fact or just fable?

3. Myths - fact or just fable?

"Bobby?" Sheila yelled again and again, but they never got an answer.

There she saw something in some distance. When they got closer they could recognize a figure. It was Bobby, who stood there, trembling slightly.

Sheila ran to him and embraced him happily and said, "Hey, Bobby! Oh my god, there you are. I was so worried 'bout you!"

But he didn't return her hug, but remained stiffened.

"Bobby, what's the matter?" Sheila asked worried and looked at her brother, who only stared at a spot behind her.

The others, which arrived at the two siblings in the meantime, noticed as well where Bobby stared at.

"Good gracious..." Presto only let out.

Then Sheila turned around as well to see what's going on at all. She also got a shock. A strange man stood in front them.

He cleared his throat and said, "Hello. Excuse me if I've frightened you. Of course, this wasn't my intention.  
I'm sorry if I've scared you with my sudden appearance seemingly out of the blue, young Barbarian."  
Then he looked at Bobby and the others.

"Um, who... who are you? And what are you doing here?" Hank asked slowly; remembering the warning words of Dungeon Master.

"Well, I am Pankratius, better known as just 'the Hermit'. I've been living here for many years in a hut quite near.  
I was searching for the ring of my deceased wife which I apparently lost somewhere here while collecting firewood when I heard a noise. I looked around and found your little Barbarian here." the stranger explained.  
"I hope you're not thinking that I'm one of those _'lost souls'_, which only lie in wait for its victims, do you?" the man asked.  
When he saw the faces of the friends, he laughed shortly and continued, "Well, then let me tell you that the whole thing with the_ 'Forest of the Damned'_ and the _'lost souls'_ in it are only myths to keep people out of the forest. They aren't true.  
This here is a forest as any other forest.  
There's nothing unusual here, even a hermit - like I am - isn't anything unusual; neither here in the Realm nor in your world."

"How do you know that we're not from here?" Diana asked surprised.

"Well, I just had to look at you to find this out. Your clothes told me that you didn't wear them all the time.  
Besides, nobody, who knows the supposed legends about this forest, would dare to come here. That's also the reason why I live here my life of a hermit.  
I'm here all alone, only I and the wonderful nature and no soul-devouring monsters or something else of this kind."

"Um, that's odd. Should Dungeon Master perhaps have told us lies?" Presto considered aloud.

When Presto mentioned the name, the blue eyes of the stranger flashed shortly. But none of the others seemed to notice it except Sheila. She frowned thoughtfully.

"Nope. I don't think so. He never lied to us earlier, did he? And why should he do such a thing?" Hank said.

"Well, maybe it was a sidekick of Venger that would mislead us..." Eric pondered.

"Nah, some would-be-Dungeon-Master couldn't scare you as good as that." Bobby said; who has recovered from his shock again and already forgot the event before the meeting with Pankratius and has forgiven his friends.

Eric rolled his eyes and Hank prayed inside that Eric wouldn't say anything else to start another argument with Bobby, because they were tired of it for today.  
And really: Eric really held his tongue and confined himself only to a snort and put his well-known _I'm-better-than-you-in-any-case-and-I'm-always-right-and-that's-why-you-shouldn't-start-an-argument-with-me_ look on.

Hank breathed out relieved and turned again towards Pankratius, "Say, you've been living here for some time now, haven't you? Did you ever notice here a portal or something similar?"

"A portal? No, as far as I can remember I've never seen here such a thing. I'm sorry." Pankratius said and looked at the Young Ones sadly. "If you don't mind I rather would go on searching for the ring of my beloved wife, before it's getting dark and I can't see anything else in this dark forest, where hardly sunshine gets there. I certainly won't sleep all night long if I can't find it .." And so Pankratius turned away.

"Wait, we can help you with your search. Maybe we're gonna find a hint to a possible portal that way. 'cause I guess Dungeon Master wouldn't have sent us here in vain..." Hank offered.

"Ah, you really would do that?" Pankratius asked and looked at them grateful.

"Of course." Bobby said grinning and he already went off with Uni and searched for the ring.

And also the others nodded in agreement and turned away: Eric turned away as well and walked into the opposite direction than Bobby.

Hank called behind Bobby, "Bobby, you shouldn't walk here by yourself. I'm gonna come with you..."

And Hank followed the youngest among them, who wasn't glad about this company at all, "Aw, gee, Hank! But Eric also goes by himself..."

"Yeah, but..."

The others couldn't understand any longer what they were talking, because the both were already too far away from the others.

Sheila had an odd feeling with the whole thing.  
Why did her friends trust this stranger that careless?  
They met him only short time ago and they already brought so much trust towards him, although they normally were anxious to get to know the one even more.  
Sheila didn't trust this stranger at all!


	4. Trust your feelings!

4. Trust your feelings!

Sheila found the stranger creepy and she wondered why only she had this feeling and not her friends as well.  
And she was even more surprised that Hank left her behind that easy and turned to her brother.  
Of course, Hank wanted to make sure that nothing's going to happen to Bobby and that's why he wanna take care of him, but didn't he usually take her with him, too?  
Why did he leave her behind here with the stranger, although he knew exactly that she hated being alone?

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the stranger turned to her, "Would you accompany me on my search?" And he looked at her.

Sheila frightened and answered, "Um, I don't know..."

And she threw a seeking help glance to her both remaining friends.  
The last thing she wanted was to be completely alone with this man.

But Diana and Presto didn't notice her glance and walked away together.  
Sheila gulped. Now she either had to run behind her friends or go with the stranger, come hell or high water. But both possibilities weren't exactly the best.  
She rather would like to get out of this forest as soon as possible again. She didn't know exactly what she was afraid of, but now she was quite sure that there was something here, which was out to kill them. And for this reason she wanted to go away as soon as possible, it didn't matter any more if there was a portal or not.  
And inside herself she agreed with Eric; she didn't hate forest in general, but this one here.

"Well, what is it now? Are you coming with me or do I have to search for the ring by myself? Make your decision a bit faster, 'cause it's getting dark soon, even if you can't see this here in the forest. But I've been living here long enough to know such things." Pankratius turned to Sheila.

She nodded slowly and somehow against her will. And also her legs followed the stranger against her will, as if the man was getting her to follow him.

But she put this thought right out of her mind again and thought to herself, "Don't flip out now! Maybe it's nothing at all. Maybe Pankratius is really only a hermit and no... ah, I don't know what..."

And she forced herself to calm down and to follow Pankratius. They walked some time silently through the forest. Pankratius always turned his sight to the ground and searched for his ring.

But Sheila stared at him, until she suddenly interrupted the silence, "Why are you actually living here all alone in the forest?"

She knew this question sounded a bit stupid, but she couldn't stand the silence and the noises in the forest any longer.

Without looking up Pankratius answered, "Well, I was driven out of the village I came from. And because I didn't get a place to stay somewhere else I decided one day to move into the forest and swore to me never ever go into the town again."

"Um and how did you meet your wife then, if you never ever wanted to come near people again?" Sheila kept on asking.

This seemed already more than odd to her.

There the man suddenly stopped and meant, without answering to her question, "Oh, I guess I finally found what I was looking for!"

"Really? Where's the ring?" Sheila asked and got a bit closer.

Pankratius replied, "My dear child, I didn't mean the ring with that!"

And he turned around and slowly came up to Sheila.  
Sheila realized with horror that the look of the stranger has changed: his eyes, which just were deep blue a little while ago, sparkled now in wild shining red and his healthy coloured cheeks have been turned into an ashy pale.  
But it weren't the eyes or his face that scared Sheila!  
She stared with wide eyes at his teeth: 2 sharp, long fangs which flashed white dangerously.  
With open mouth and bared teeth Pankratius came up to Sheila, who neither could move for fear nor do something else.  
She couldn't even give a scream, she just was too shocked about it.

And when she looked at the stranger, she knew it: he was a vampire, who's sucking the blood of the living.

The myths about this forest were true, through and through, and they all were credulous this way and ignored them that easy.  
They believed they could handle it casually, as well as they have coped with everything before.  
They were stupid like that; blinded by the wish to finally come home that they simply shut their eyes to the truth.

There really were creatures, which wanted to do something to them.  
This forest really was a 'Forest of the Damned'.

When Pankratius nearly was at her she tried to escape from him. But she didn't succeed because he quickly seized her by the arm and pulled her towards himself. Then he got closer to her neck with his teeth. She defended herself desperately, but she wasn't a match for the man.  
When he reached her neck he bit violently and abruptly into it and began to suck her blood right away.  
Sheila winced and let out a scream. Then, when he was done, she sank weakly to the ground and looked at the man gasping and breathing heavily.

"What... what have you done?" Sheila asked.

The man only smiled as answer.

* * *

**_Author's Note: Sorry, I'm nearly obsessed with vampires ;)_**


	5. Face the truth!

5. Face the truth!

When Sheila's friends returned at the starting point, they suddenly heard her scream.

"Oh no, that was Sheila!" Diana called and they started to run without hesitation.

So they arrived at the place and saw the stranger standing in front of Sheila. Sheila sat on the ground, trembling and breathing heavily.  
But both Sheila and the vampire noticed the friends long ago as well...

"Sheila? Sheila, what's the matter? Why did you scream? Is everything all right?" Hank asked worried.

The others threw an interrogative glance to Sheila at first and then to the stranger. There they noticed the red shining eyes of the stranger.

"What the...?" Presto only could start.

There Pankratius said to Sheila, looking at the friends, "You have to do what's now in your nature."

There the friends noticed the unnatural sharp and long fangs.  
And they suspected as well what the stranger actually was all the time: a vampire!

The friends looked scared from the man to Sheila, who still sat on the ground and stared at them motionless. She also was now pale as death.

Bobby stepped forward to his sister and asked carefully, "Sis? Is everything ok with you, Sis?"

But Sheila didn't recognize him and also didn't answer him.  
She didn't recognize any of them any more.

There the friends looked at each other at a loss. But when they looked back at Sheila she also had red shining eyes and she hissed at them.  
There she also bared her sharp long fangs: Sheila also was a vampire now.

"Oh my goodness..." Eric whispered, while they all stared at Sheila.

Not believing in what he just saw, Bobby took a further step towards Sheila. There Sheila jumped up with a jerk. Bobby yielded back again frightened. She glared at them.

"Come on, Bobby, we have to disappear from here!" Hank said to the boy, grasped him by the arm and pulled him away.

The others also turned around and ran away.

"No! Let me go, Hank! I gotta go to her... _Sheila!!_" Bobby screamed and struggled.

"No, Bobby, it's no use any more! We can't help Sheila any more..."

The words hit Hank rough.  
He realized the sad and frustrating truth in them.  
What has he just done?  
He's allowed that the group got separated.  
He's allowed that Sheila was left behind by herself with this stranger.  
It was his fault that Sheila wasn't with them any more now.  
He's to blame for it, only he.  
He had the responsibility about this group and he had failed as leader!

He realized that Sheila didn't know them any longer and that she only was out to bite them and to drink their blood. She wasn't the Sheila he loved any longer.  
Now she was turned into a soulless monster - a vampire - and this only because of him, it's his fault.  
How should he ever make up for that again?  
How would the others react to it?  
How would Bobby react?  
Would he ever be able to forgive him?  
Forgive him his fault?  
But above all there was now the question: will they ever be able to get out of this forest (alive)?

Sheila chased them.

The stranger stayed behind laughing.  
His new companion would cope with her friends just fine, he was sure of that.  
If she didn't, he would sense it and come to help her and do the rest.


	6. On the run

6. On the run

Meanwhile, the friends are still fleeing from Sheila, not knowing where they're running at all.

"I knew it; I knew it from the beginning.  
This forest is bad. I hate forests.  
But nobody ever listens to me and now we also have a cracked up Sheila on the neck. Literally.  
If we just would have a map..." Eric complained once again.

"Eric, it ain't the right moment now to argue 'bout that. You rather should run or do you wanna also end up the same way as Sheila?" Hank scolded him.

"No, but if we're unlucky, Sheila's gonna drive us into the deep forest, where we're probably gonna get lost completely and so we would be lost for ever in this goddamned forest."

"Oh, no, look! We don't run deeper into the forest, but directly out of it. That's the path we came, ain't it?" Diana shouted.

"I guess..." Presto mumbled.

The friends noticed it and ran straight to the end of the forest.

Eric, who ran as the last one again, turned around and wondered, "Hey, guys, I think we shook her off!"

But he hardly said this when Sheila appeared out of nowhere directly in front of him. She used her Cloak; that's why she could catch up with them without being noticed by her friends.

"Ah!" Eric screamed frightened.

And there Sheila jumped at Eric and pulled him to the ground. With a further horrified scream he fell under Sheila to the ground and defended himself against her, because Sheila was holding him tight to get to his neck unhindered.

"Let me go, Sheila! Otherwise I have to hurt you and I really don't wanna do that!"

The remaining friends turned back and wanted to help Eric. They pulled Sheila down from Eric. But Sheila, who was sitting on the ground now, didn't like that at all. She growled at her friends furiously and bared her teeth aggressively.

"Please Sheila; don't you know us any more? Please, you have to remember..." Hank talked to her, while Presto and Diana helped Eric to get up again.

But Sheila didn't react.

And she also didn't, when Bobby stepped beside Hank and begged, "Please, Sis... You simply couldn't have forgotten who we are, who I am...  
You do remember, don't you? We're your friends. I'm your brother...  
Sheila, please..._ Sis..._"

Hank shook his head, laid a hand on the shoulder of the youngest and tried to get him away from Sheila, before she could jump up again and probably lunge at Bobby.  
Sheila growled again dangerously and her eyes shone even brighter now.

"_Run!_ I guess she's gonna attack any moment again!" Hank ordered to his friends, while he didn't lose sight of Sheila any moment. And he said to Bobby, "Bobby, come on, we can't do anything for her any more, believe me... I would like to if we could, but I'm afraid she's lost, for ever..."

His eyes were filled with tears with these words.

The young boy shook his head stubbornly, shook the hand off, took a step towards Sheila and said sulkily, "_No!_ I can't leave her here... I can't and I don't wanna do it; she's my sister..." And tears also ran over his cheeks.

"Please Bobby..."

Suddenly Sheila talked to them, but her voice wasn't the same any longer, "Bobby... you are my brother... come to me..."

And Sheila smiled, baring her teeth with that.

"Sis? You remember me?" Bobby asked and took another step towards Sheila, who stretched out her arms for a hug.

"No, Bobby, don't. This there ain't Sheila any more; she ain't your sister any longer!" Hank said and grasped Bobby's arm and held him back.

"Please Hank... I wanna go to her..."

"Bobby, come to me..." Sheila lured again.

In the meantime, the others got out of the forest, awaiting Hank and Bobby.

"Hank, Bobby, come on!" Presto shouted to them.

"Bobby, we have to hurry up or else Sh... she is gonna attack us again. We really can't do anything for her any more... Please, believe me; if we could I would do it! I'm really sorry, Sheila..." Hank turned with his last words to his former friend.

Then Hank pulled the meanwhile crying boy behind himself.

"_Sheila..._" Bobby shouted again and again and looked at her crying, while he was pulled to the others by Hank.

Sheila kept on sitting on the ground for a moment. Then she jumped up and ran behind them; now really angry, because they got away from her and she was driven by her insatiable desire for blood.


	7. What are friends for?

7. What are friends for?

Hank and Bobby finally arrived at the last trees of the forest and left them behind.

"Oh my god, there's Dracula's daughter also again!" Eric said.

The others turned around and saw Sheila getting closer to them.

"Shouldn't we rather run away again?" Eric asked.  
But none of the others moved.  
"Anyway, I would be in favour of it..." Eric meant and gulped.

Sheila was quite close to them. She just arrived at the last trees, when they suddenly heard a sort of hiss and shortly after that an angry and painfully growl from Sheila.

"What was that?" Diana asked sceptically.

Sheila stood on the path that led into and out of the forest, only a few steps away from them. But she didn't follow them any longer. Sheila took a step forwards and crashed apparently into an invisible wall.

"Um, I guess, this has something to do with magic..." Presto considered.

"Don't tell us, you have something to do with that!" Eric replied.

"Nah, I don't! I doubt that my Hat is able to do such a thing, anyhow not yet...  
I guess, Sheila's stopped by a magical wall or such a thing.  
You need quite a lot of magic to produce something like that..." Presto explained.

"Does that mean that this wall or whatever this is, is holding Sheila and also the other poor souls up? And 'cause they can't leave the forest for that reason, they're lost and imprisoned in the forest for ever, ain't they?" Bobby asked quietly and watched his sister hitting the wall, but always flinching with a hiss.

"I'm afraid so..." Presto admitted.

"We... we have to do something... we simply can't leave her... here..."

"But what should we do, Bobby?" Hank asked wearily.

"_I don't know!_ But we have to do something! I don't wanna leave my sister here behind by no means..."

"It's also difficult for us but we can't do anything, Bobby. Please understand it!" Diana said.

Bobby turned around, hit his Club on the ground and grumbled, "No, you simply won't do anything! You really wanna leave her here to her fate, huh?"

"Bobby, she ain't your sister any more. This there ain't our Sheila, our Thief, any more!  
That's only a heartless bloodthirsty monster now.  
Have you forgotten how she's attacked me?  
She wanted to drink my blood, she wanted to kill me.  
And she would do it now as well, if she only could.  
She would kill everyone of us, just without batting an eye. She would kill all of us cruely and without repentance, 'cause she doesn't know us any more.  
She would kill you, too, Barbarian!" Eric tried to convince Bobby.

Sheila took a few steps back and tried to defeat the invisible barrier at another spot.

"Don't you understand that we have to help her?" Bobby asked, without listening to Eric, while he watched his sister desperately.  
"Maybe we can get her out of the forest somehow again. When we could pull her out... maybe this curse or whatever rest up on her, would disappear...  
Maybe she needs our help with that, 'cause she can't get out of the forest by herself..." Bobby considered.

And before the others could reply something to it, Bobby rushed into the forest to his sister.

"Oh shit!" Hank murmured.

"Bobby, come back! Are you nuts? She's gonna kill you!" Presto yelled behind the youngest, but the young boy wouldn't be stopped in any case by his friends.

He would help his sister, no matter what!

Even if he usually didn't take a particularly interest that his sister always was worried about him, but he was feeling a tender love between siblings, which drove him to help his sister.

"C'mon!" Hank told the others and he followed Bobby.

The boy was already expected by a quite hungry Sheila. Bobby walked up to Sheila a bit fearful.

"Sheila... please, you have to remember me! Remember, please!"

But of course Sheila didn't recognize her brother and wanted to attack him. But in this moment, when she wanted to jump upon him, Bobby yielded back fearfully, so that she missed him and fell with an angry growl on the ground. There the other friends arrived at them and came to help Bobby.  
Presto and Eric held Sheila's wrists tight.  
Diana took Bobby's shoulders and held on to him to prevent him from running to his sister again.  
While Presto and Eric had trouble to hold Sheila tight, who defended herself very much, Hank drew his Bow and fired one of his magical arrows.  
The arrow surrounded Sheila and tied her up with that. Sheila hissed angry.

"I'm sorry, Sheila. But that's only for your own safety!" Hank explained with a sad expression.

"What are we gonna do with her now, Hank?" Diana asked.

Hank turned around to face her. With that he caught sight of Bobby, who looked at his sister with tears in the eyes.  
It hurt Hank deep in the heart to see the boy so desperate and sad like that and he wanted to do everything that he would be cheerful again.  
And he also wanted to do everything to help Sheila.

"I... just don't know! How did you think you could help her, Bobby?" Hank turned to Bobby.

After a short hesitation the Barbarian answered in slightly sobs, "I... I simply wanted to... take her out of... the forest... 'cause... 'cause I thought she... she can't get... out of it by... herself and maybe... needs help with it... but..."

"It's ok, Bobby. You're a good boy!" Hank comforted him and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
"Well, why shouldn't we carry out Bobby's idea?" he turned then to the others.

"You mean we should drag her along out of the forest, only to give her an opportunity to attack us there in gratitude for it, so to speak? Oh no, count me out! This idea is sheer suicide!" Eric lifted his hands repulsing.

"But it's quite hard for her to liberate herself. My arrow holds her tight.  
Or do you perhaps have another idea, Eric? I guess not.  
And I definitely ain't gonna leave her here! Well?"

Eric groaned and shook his head.  
"But don't say later that I wouldn't have warned you!" he added grimly.

"Well then, come on!" Hank said and turned around for leaving. He put an arm around Bobby's shoulder and pulled him with him.

Presto and Eric held Sheila's arms tight and pulled her to her legs. Sheila commented that with a hiss. Her eyes sparkled in a shining red again.

"Look out of her teeth!" Presto said to Eric, while they pulled the strongly defending Sheila to the exit of the forest.

"Of course. I don't wanna come into closer contact with these teeth anyway." Eric returned.

Diana walked behind them to secure that nothing and nobody followed them.

While he was pushed to the direction of the exit by Hank, Bobby often looked back at his sister worried.

In the meantime, both the Ranger and the Barbarian arrived at the exit and waited for the others, hoping Sheila wouldn't bounce off of the invisible magical barrier again.

When Eric and Presto crossed the boundary of the forest with Sheila they sensed a slightly jolt.  
Eric threw a wondering glance to Presto. But Presto only shrugged.  
There they already feared that their plan wouldn't work. But as soon as they crossed the boundary Sheila sank to the ground.  
Even the both boys couldn't stop her from falling

There she kept on lying unmoved.

"_Sheila!!_" Bobby shouted and wanted to rush to her but Hank held him back.

The friends watched the lifeless person on the ground suspiciously; both curious and worried at the same time what all this was supposed to mean and if this was rather a good or a bad sign.

So they all stared at the lifeless girl on the ground.


	8. Is there any hope left?

8. Is there any hope left?

But after a while which seemed like an eternity Sheila finally moved again.

She groaned and opened her eyes. They didn't shine red as assumed, but had their natural colour back.  
They were in this wonderful indescribable lovely and charming green again.

Sheila wasn't a monster any more, she was human again!

She tried to sit up, but noticed that she was tied up with an arrow.

She asked confused, "What... what happened? What I'm doing here? Why did you tie me up?"

"Oh Sheila!" Bobby ran to his sister and hugged her overjoyed.

Meanwhile, Hank freed her from her bonds and hugged her as well.

"Hey guys, I'm also glad to see you, but... could you perhaps explain me what's that supposed to be?" Sheila asked getting more confused by their behavior.

"Does that mean you don't remember any more? Nothing at all? Perhaps then you also don't remember that you wanted to attack me quite Dracula-like?" Eric asked.

Sheila shook her head and looked at her friends.

Her friends explained everything to her.

"Ah, the last thing I remember, is that I was there in the forest with this stranger and, yeah of course, he attacked me... he was a vampire..." Sheila said thoughtfully.

"Yeah... he also turned you into one and we already thought we would have lost you for ever..." Hank said and smiled at her. Sheila smiled back.

"Well, what do you think now? Is there a portal home somewhere in this forest or not?" Presto asked and looked thoughtfully into the forest.

"Oh, I don't wanna know that at all! Nobody's gonna get me into this forest any more, let alone into any forest at all, anyway. As I said earlier: I hate forests!" Eric blocked.

And as a confirmation of his words there suddenly was a loud grumbling scream out of the forest: it was the stranger. He probably just had sensed that Sheila was free again and no longer his companion.

Eric jumped back for fear. Bobby sneered about it.

"Well, and what are we doing now?" Diana asked.

"Maybe congratulate yourself to your strengthened friendship and the survived situation and be glad about it?" suddenly sounded behind them.

"Dungeon Master!" Presto called surprised.

"Once again..." Eric couldn't help saying.

And none of the others threw warning glances to him or admonished him this time.

Instead, Hank asked unusual sharply, "Did you perhaps know that such a thing could happen to us, Dungeon Master?"

Dungeon Master slowly nodded and said, "Yes, of course I knew that. Nothing happens here by chance and..."

"_What?_ You already knew that this Pankratius was about to attack me and turn me into a murdering beast, so that I would attack my friends without knowing?" Sheila interrupted him furiously.

"Yes, I'm sorry that you had to go through this, but I was quite sure that your friends would help you."

"You only were _'quite sure'_? You didn't know it exactly?  
What if we wouldn't have done it?  
We would have left our friend here behind, probably for absolutely nothing..." Eric snorted

"Definitely not _'for nothing'_. Your behaviour showed that you stand up for each other. You never ever would let the others down and that tightens your team spirit, doesn't it? This makes you stronger for further enemies." Dungeon Master replied.

"So there ain't any portal at all, huh?" Presto asked.

This question was in everybody's mind.

"I'm afraid not."

"I knew it!" Eric scowled. "And for that we were nearly gonna risk our lives!"  
He shook his head stunned.

"Well, you didn't find a portal but still something important: your community. That's also very important; don't you think so, too?"

"Yeah, yeah, very important..." Eric sighed.

"It ain't very honest to lie to us like that, but you're right. I guess our friendship really grew stronger." Hank admitted after a while.

Dungeon Master smiled at him wisely. "Certainly, Ranger."

"And what are we gonna do now?" Bobby asked tired.

"Well, there's a village not very far away from here. There you are definitely going to find a tavern, which would accommodate you." Dungeon Master answered.

"What? No riddles and lies 'bout a mysterious portal that leads us home any more now?" Eric asked sarcastically.

"No, you already went through enough for today."

"You don't say so!" Eric snorted.

"Well, I think we should go there as soon as possible. It's slowly getting dark." Hank suggested.

The others agreed to this suggestion.

"Ok, I ain't in the mood any longer to search for a portal that didn't exist at all." Eric replied and looked with that over to Dungeon Master.

As opposed to the others, he just couldn't forgive that easy that they were told lies. He always had to express his disappointment, so that everybody could notice that he still was angry about it.

Then the friends glanced once more into the forest and set off to the village, after they waved goodbye to Dungeon Master.

When they slowly left, Eric complained once again, "Yeah, c'mon, let's go into our next adventure where we're just gonna get empty promises 'bout a portal again..."

There sounded a fivefold, "_Er-ic!_"

"Yeah, yeah, never mind. All of you are always against me, but I only said the truth and if..."

Dungeon Master already couldn't hear any more what else Eric was saying to his friends. He was left behind alone, smiling to himself.  
"Well, my dear friends. Sometime your patient waiting and your search will come to a happy end. Because nothing happens here by chance!" the man said and disappeared the way he always did.

THE END


End file.
